Episode Summary

Liz joins Jack at a party at his friend Gavin Volure's mansion, only to have Gavin fall completely in love with her. Tracy fears his kids have sinister intentions when they become too nice to him. Kenneth entrusts Jack to invest his savings into Gavin's business venture.moreless

A weird one

30 ROCK Gavin Volure - In this episode Jack invites Liz to fine party where a rich person lives. That rich person happens to be Steve Martin. Who has a strange problem were he cant touch people in anyway. He gets jack to invest some money into his "new company" he is creating. Jack gets kenneth to invest money to which backfires in the end. Were Steve can touch people he is just underhouse arrest with other conartist he invites liz to come with him on his run from the law she says no and he escapes. He comes to the studio were he stopped by tracy and Tracy's human toy doll. Overall it was a weird episode something about it just didnt go right. I dont know but something did not fit.moreless

Steve Martin guest stars as a nutty agoraphobe who falls in love with Liz.

... as Gavin, a fake agoraphobe who falls in love with Liz. Steve was great, funny as always. It was fun to see Tina Fey and him work together, cause he has always been a role model of hers.

Liz: Listen, I kind of told him I'd go.

Jack: You should, what's the problem?Liz: I don't know, I'm still tired from that dinner. And meeting someone new? Ugh, all the nodding and smiling and sibling listing. What's the upside? It works, and you have to have a bunch of sex?Jack really admires Gavin Volure, as evidenced by this quote, for example:Jack: Gavin is a fabulous guy. If I were dating a man he would be at the top of my list, with Michael Jordan, Denzel Washington, Taye Diggs... God, do I have a black thing?- Tracy's sonsTracy freaks out because he thinks his sons are trying to kill him. Good stuff.- The Tracy Jordan Sex Doll... is apparently a big hit in Japan. Hahah, the doll was actually freakishly alike the real life Tracy.Frank truck hat reads 'Role Model'.moreless

Liz falls in with an "eccentric agoraphobe" who convinces Jack and Kenneth into some shady investing, all while Tracy avoids his murderous children.

This episode felt special from the first few seconds, when Liz in a fit of hunger sat down and asked "Is this potpourri or chips cause I'm gonna try to eat it." The fact that she continued to eat it after discovering the former is exactly why this show is so much fun.

The ongoing joke with Tracy's Japanese sex doll had an excellent pay-off, following Steve Martin's big character reveal. As the fourth major guest star this season, Martin was head and shoulders above the others with some hilarious one-liners throughout. This episode doesn't stand out among the best in TV, but the little quirks like Kenneth talking about the swimming talent of pigs, shows that this show can be great without being brilliant.moreless

A white-collar criminal becomes attracted to Liz.

After the previous two big name guests failed to live up to the hype Steve Martin gave an excellent guest performance. His lines were cleverly written and perfectly executed and there were numerous subtle jabs that would become even funnier upon second or third viewings. It's no shock that he played off another man to guest host Saturday Night Live 2000 times Alec Baldwin incredibly well.What worked for this episode was that the plot was kept simple and everything gelled together at the end. The show does not need Seinfeld twists to be successful, they just need good humor and strong acting, and they got that here.I liked how they brought up the Menendez brothers and were actually able to make a joke about it. I doubt the majority of viewers knew the reference but it was not even necessary as Tracy Morgan could be reading an obituary and he would get you to laugh.This episode is still far removed from Season 1 quality but this is a step in the right direction to getting 30 Rock back on track.moreless

Recurring Role

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (4)

The news paper that flashes on screen, when Gavin Volure is explaining when he first say Liz, reads:

Winter PlumageBold Color for Men and WomenIf a New Yorker has too much black in their wardrobe it can make winter seem bleak and create a melancholy atmosphere in their lives. Leonard Bruno a fashion analyst explains "Black is for sad occasions, and New York is a party town. We like to have fun here and enjoy the delicious people and the delicious things that are all around us. Its not proper to wear a funeral hue, like black, everyday. Pick a fabulous outfit when doing fabulous things. Lets face it, in this city you could end up...

The montage sequence that promotes Gavin Volure's mock firm, shown for a few seconds on screen when Jack confronts him in his home, is taken from the original montage sequence used in Mick Jackson's 1991 film, L.A. Story (1991), also starring Steve Martin.

Liz: Listen, I kind of told him I'd go.Jack: You should, what's the problem?Liz: I don't know, I'm still tired from that dinner. And meeting someone new? Ugh, all the nodding and smiling and sibling listing. What's the upside? It works, and you have to have a bunch of sex?

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